Archive for April 2024
April 28th, 2024 by Dr. Hannah Sivak
The answer to “how” is usually “with arrogance and ignorance.” Every day should be Earth Day, and we should be careful about introducing new chemicals into Earth. Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) are a class of artificial compounds made of a perfluoroalkyl main chain and a terminal functional group and have been applied widely. In the mid-20th century, we were more naive about what chemistry and invention could do and not do. On their introduction in the 1940s, PFASs were considered inert. Still, early occupational studies revealed elevated levels of fluorochemicals, including perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA, C8), in the blood of exposed industrial workers. At that time,…
April 15th, 2024 by Dr. Hannah Sivak
TIU: acrónimo en inglés para Top It Up (Volvé a cargalo hasta el tope)¿De qué se trata? A medida que nuestra piel envejece, se producen dos cambios significativos: una disminución de la producción de factores de crecimiento y un descenso del aporte de nutrientes procedentes del resto del organismo. Esto significa que la división celular se ralentizará por falta de instrucciones para dividirse y por falta de los medios necesarios para que las células crezcan y se dividan. Este es el doble perjuicio que acelerará el envejecimiento de la piel. No notarás ninguna diferencia en la adolescencia, pero sí a los veinte y, desde luego, a los treinta. ¿Qué verás?…
April 15th, 2024 by Dr. Hannah Sivak
ROS can destroy everything they find: proteins, DNA, lipids, and life. The environment provides plenty of ROS* (reactive oxygen species), but so does your body! How? Respiration and mitochondria are the main suppliers of usable energy to fulfill all our needs. They produce energy by extracting it from foodstuffs, and electron transport plays a big part in this. However, the electron transport process, a marvel of life, is far from perfect, and ROS* are formed. Our body has the machinery to deal with ROS*, acquired during millions of years of evolution in an oxygen-containing atmosphere. But this machinery, just like everything else in our bodies, ages as we age. Why…
April 9th, 2024 by Dr. Hannah Sivak
TIU: Top It UpWhat’s this? As our skin ages, there will be two significant changes: a decrease in the production of growth factors and a fall in the supply of nutrients from the rest of the body. This means that cell division will slow down for lack of intsructions to devide and because of the lack of the wherewithal to allow cell to grow and divide. This is the double whammy that will accelerate skin aging. You will not notice a difference in your teen years but you may in your twenties and certainly in your thirties. What will you see? Thinning of the skin, wrinkles, laxity. Oral vitamins will…
April 7th, 2024 by Dr. Hannah Sivak
¿Necesitamos palabras nuevas y feas? No, pero nos las tratan de imponer de todos modos. El “slugging” es una técnica “viral” de cuidado de la piel que consiste en cubrir el rostro con una crema hidratante oclusiva -como, por ejemplo, una fórmula a base de vaselina- para ayudarla a cicatrizar. Su nombre se debe a que hace que el rostro tenga un aspecto ultrabrillante y viscoso, como si una babosa se hubiera abierto paso por la cara. Si sufrís problemas de piel graves, como los causados por la diabetes o el cáncer, es posible que, de todos modos, tu médico te haya sugerido una crema oclusiva. Pero ¿y el resto…
April 6th, 2024 by Dr. Hannah Sivak
And do you need ugly new words? No, but we get them anyway. Slugging is a “viral” skincare technique that involves coating your face in an occlusive moisturizer, like a petrolatum-based formula, to help it heal. It got its name because it makes your face look ultra shiny and slimy—like a slug made its way across your face. If you have severe skin problems, like those caused by diabetes or cancer, your doctor may have suggested an occlusive cream anyway. But what about the rest of us? If you follow social media, you may have already bought petrolatum-based cream (vaseline is a tradename for petrolatum) or maybe a slugging cream.…
April 3rd, 2024 by Dr. Hannah Sivak
La piel de los mayores es diferente a la de los bebés, no solo en la textura, sino también en el color. O, mejor dicho, en los colores, ¿en plural? La piel envejecida parece casi un mapa, con diferentes manchas que te recuerdan todas las veces que maltratamos nuestra piel mientras crecíamos. ¿Aquella quemadura mientras hervíamos agua en la tetera? La vez que nos quedamos demasiado tiempo al sol cuando el mar ya había eliminado el protector solar. ¿Y los capilares rotos? Producen hematomas que cambian de color con el tiempo y pueden tardar meses en desaparecer. También te pueden salir esas manchitas rojas del tamaño de un alfiler. Muchas…
April 2nd, 2024 by Dr. Hannah Sivak
Older skin is different from baby skin, not just in texture but also in color. Or, let’s say, colors, like in plural? Older skin looks almost like a map, with different spots reminding you of all the ays we mistreated our skin as we grew up. That burn while we were boiling water in the kettle? The time we stayed way too long in the sun after the sea had rinsed away the sunscreen. How about broken capillaries? They produce bruising that changes color with time and may take months to disappear. You may also get those pin-size red spots. Many illnesses require the use of anticoagulants: heart arrhythmia, cancer,…